Bleed It Out
by tomboy14
Summary: ShikaIno A life gone wrong in such a short amount of time. A girl turning to unusual and tragic means to escape her pain. A legacy of sorrow and half-hearted apologies live on. No one can change this, no one can stop this bleeding out. Warning Inside


**AN: I'm obsessed with this song. And I'm going to see the band in concert! It helps to listen to the song on repeat when reading this.**

**Dedicated: Angel, Kiyo, and the waffle. Happy birthdays! I know I'm terribly late for all 3, but I had to make this fic perfect, and it took a lot of time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the song "Bleed It Out." I do, however, own a Naruto headband and a copy of 2 Linkin Park CDs. **

**WARNING!!! There is some bad language in this (dropped the f-bomb a few times, but it's necessary) and there are mentions of torture, rape, self-inflicted harm, and pregnancy (well, that one isn't that bad). None of these things are explicit, there are merely mentioned. But the topics brought up play key roles. If you are not comfortable, then please leave this story now. I think this story should be no higher or lower than the T rating (if there was T plus I would place it there), but if you think it should be upped to M with good reason, then I'll do so.**

* * *

**Yeah here we go for the hundredth time  
Hand grenade pins in every line **

Throw 'em up and let something shine  
Going out of my fucking mind_**  
**_**  
Filthy mouth, no excuse  
Find a new place to hang this noose **

String me up from atop these roofs  
Knot it tight so I won't get loose

Truth is you can stop and stare  
Bled myself out and no one cares

Dug the trench out laid down there  
With a shovel up out of reach somewhere

Yeah, someone pour it in  
Make it a dirt dance floor again

Say your prayers and stomp it out  
When they bring that chorus in

Who would have ever associated Yamanaka Ino with being anti-social? Well, just about everyone these days. The blonde sat in the dark corner of the Academy, listening half-heartedly to the lecture being given to a large number of kunoichi. 

"—represent this village, and should show how we-"

It seemed like Tsunade just went on and on and on in Ino's opinion! So what if they'd all, in some way, performed an act that would be considered _crazy_. So what if she'd…

No.

She was not going to say it. It was not the time to get all teary-eyed, then have an extreme craving, an anatomical _urge_ for something so forbidden. It was bittersweet.

"—strong and well-put-together kunoichi-"

Did this woman ever stop?

She'd loved him so much. And then he was gone. But somehow something so _amazing_ had come out of his disappearance, and they were trying to take it away from her? Her one relief?

"—can go."

Chairs screeched across the linoleum floors as everyone around Ino rose out of their chairs and slunk in single file out the classroom. Ino slowly noticed the fact, but stayed put.

"—anaka, why aren't you moving?"

If Tsunade understood what Ino was going through, then maybe Ino wouldn't still be sitting here. She's the Hokage, she's "perfect," the greatest kunoichi. Not like she'd ever understand. She's moved past her obstacles, and Ino just…_can't._ Or rather, _won't._

Ino looked up to the other blonde with an odd look on here face. It was so…unusual…to be seen on this girl's face. Tsunade took a step backward with surprise, it written in her eyes.

"Because I think I'm old enough not to be bossed around by a granny."

Tsunade stared at her incredulously. Her temper was not what she was revered for. "_Granny?_ Who do you think you are, kid!"

Ino slammed her hands on the desk in front of her, rising up to her full height for the first time in weeks. "Well, Tsunade-_sama_," Ino set her visage is a glare, her blue eyes icy. "I think I am Yamanaka Ino, former Anbu captain that was_ tortured _by an ungrateful bastard of a man, or as you and your precious "little brother" Naruto would call him, Uchiha Sasuke! Who, while being tortured herself," Ino pulled off her baggy forest green hooded sweatshirt, revealing her old purple top. She threw the hoodie down, then pointed to the long scar running from right above her naval to where it was covered by her shirt. Angry red gashes could be seen across her arms, but she need not point them out to the woman.

**I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away **

I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away

I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away

Just to throw it away  
Just to throw it away

I bleed it out  


Tsunade's eyes flickered to her wounds before moving away from the sight. She'd already tried to heal Ino's scars, but her job only carried to physical wounds. Mental injuries were a whole other story.

"Saw the only person that ever loved her for who she was _killed_ by that bastard. The same bastard that _raped_ her, and scarred her in more ways than what can be seen physically," she again pointed to the long scar on her abdomen. "yet is now forgiven and roaming around Konoha. Oh yeah, I forgot, he's on _probation_!" Ino spat out the last term with a sarcasm never before seen to man. Her face was crazy looking, the translucent skin stretched across her high cheek bones, the wide, mocking, _dead_ eyes.

Tsunade was silent, staring at the girl. She set a firm look on her face, yet in her eyes there was a sorrow and pity for the situation. "You don't know that he's dead."

Ino let out a strangled laugh. "I don't know that he's _dead?_ Not only did I see it, but I felt it. I felt my fucking heart _ripped_ out, with half of it dying with him. Half of _me_. Then the rest of it _shoved_ back inside, but not working right."

Tsunade sighed. She understood that the girl was going through a hard time. But she'd lost more than one she'd loved. Although, Tsunade had never been raped, and Ino's condition must have been worsened by Uchiha Sasuke being a walking reminder of it. And of course—

"But what about your—"

Ino grabbed her hoodie again, pulling it over her head and tugging it back over her swelled breasts and lightly protruding belly without touching the scar. "Don't even say it. And how do we know whose it is? Konoha doesn't need a literal bastard baby walking around, searching for its damned father, who's off with my supposed best friend screwing around!" A rebellious tear slid down her face. "And no matter how much I want to believe it's _his_, it's just not. Considering the timing, it's nearly impossible. We were only together once then."

Tsunade sighed. She couldn't figure out what to do with this girl. "Ino, shut up and listen for a moment."

Ino gripped the edge of the table. "Make me."

Tsunade sighed, closed her eyes, and snapped her fingers, hating to do this. At the signal, a dozen Anbu ran into the room, grabbing hold of the unsurprised young blonde. "I'm sorry I had to resort to this, Ino."

The Anbu walked her towards the clear floor, dragging the limp blonde with them down a staircase. Tsunade clasped her hands behind her back, following them. She paced a few times in front of Ino before settling to stand right in front of her once more.

Ino adjusted herself in the grip of her fellow shinobi. She could feel their pitying gazes upon herself. They had been under her command, too. Now she was under theirs. She hated the feeling. "I had a feeling this was going to happen. Well, go on, take me away. Let's get this over with so I can find that forehead-whore."

_SLAP!_

Ino's head flew to the side, a nasty red hue upon her cheek. Her eyes watered for a moment, but she did not cry out.

"Don't you _ever_ call Sakura that name! She's a respectable kunoichi, unlike _you_."

**Go stop the show  
Choppy words and a sloppy flow **

Shotgun opera lock and load  
Cock it back and then watch it go

Mama help me I've been cursed  
Death is rolling in every verse

Candy paint on his brand new hearse  
Can't contain him he knows he works

Practice hurts, I won't lie  
Doesn't matter how hard I try

Half the words don't mean a thing  
And I know that I wont be satisfied

So why try ignoring him  
Make it a dirt dance floor again

Say your prayers and stomp it out  
When they bring that chorus in  


Ino smirked, turning her face back to look Tsunade right in the eyes. "Hmph, I always knew you played favorites. Well, whatever. Lay on me whatever you want. Everyone that ever cared about me, even on a friendship or teammate level, is gone. Parents have been dead for 3 years, the Nara's and Akimichi's older generations the same. Asuma's been dead for 10 years, and Chouji for 5. All the rest of Konoha 11 except Naruto and Sakura are away to Suna for another 2 years, and Naruto hates me because I dared insult the bastard that hurt me, as well as the girl that used me, and we all know where she is."

Tsunade raised her hand again, it hovering next to Ino's face. Ino's gaze never wavered, her defiance still there. The hand moved in slow motion, and Ino couldn't help but feel how cliché this was and thus rolled her eyes. But the hand stopped on her shoulder, and before she knew it, the Anbu had let go of her and Ino was in an embrace with the 5th Hokage.

Ino's eyes widened, true emotion other than the anger and sorrow she had known for the past months erupting from her broken heart. She instinctively sank into the embrace, but her defiant mentality prevented her from fully giving in.

Tsunade rubbed the younger blonde's back in a soothing emotion, and Ino couldn't help but remember how her mother had held her like this so many times when she was younger, chasing away all the bad things. Ino closed her eyes, and when she opened them she swore she saw her mother, not Tsunade, holding onto her. The tears finally began to leak out as she closed her eyes once more, again seeing Tsunade, not her mother. She then shut out the images, hardening herself up. She would not be vulnerable again.

Ino could feel what Tsunade was thinking, her jutsu acting automatically due to her unstable demeanor. She could tell Tsunade was sincere. Ino mentally cursed her jutsu. The wall she had put up ever since the incident was beginning to crack, her hardened, broken heart being healed not with Tsunade's medical jutsu, but her human compassion. Ino finally understood why this woman was Hokage. The cold side that had evolved through the death of her loved ones was fighting a losing battle. Ino's already broken heart couldn't take much more. It needed love to heal, not the isolation priorly thought to be the answer.

Tsunade slowly brought them down to a sitting position on the floor with Ino laying on her lap. A rocking motion began, and Ino felt like her old self. The image of her mother returned, but went away again just as quickly. She could feel the Anbu's gazes from outside the room, and that is what helped her remain in reality, not in her surrealistic world.

The silence between the two revered kunoichi was not awkward, not in need to be broken. The shushing motions and Ino's uneven breathing were what filled the room, but, as all silences, it needed to be broken. A long talk was what Tsunade had in mind, and Ino prepared herself for it as much as she could.

Tsunade sucked in a breath.

"Ino…"

She waited for the reaction, and seeing/feeling no negative signs, continued on. This was a touchy subject for herself as well.

"We both know what it is like to…lose someone we love."

No negative signs yet. Ino appeared to be listening, silent tears still falling every few moments.

"So…we both know it's not something you can forget about, and something you never will truly get over, no matter what people say."

Ino gave a silent nod. Her face was slowly growing softer, the premature wrinkles of her face smoothing out. She looked like her age again.

"And all we can do is remember all the good times we had."

Ino opened her mouth, a wry smile on her face.

"I know this is corny. You don't need to remind me."

Ino's mouth snapped shut. But then it opened again. "I thought I was the mind reader here." Her face held a shadow of the teasing smile she used to wear nonstop.

"Sometimes you don't need to be a mind reader to know these things."

Ino let her head rest against Tsunade's shoulder. She bit her lip, forcing back her negative thoughts and feelings and trying to listen to what Tsunade was trying to tell her. She needed to listen just like she'd listen to her own mother during these types of moments. Tsunade had stopped, obviously waiting for Ino to say something. It couldn't just be listening, she also needed to explain.

"Tsunade-sama…" Ino lifted her head off the shoulder of her former shishou and looked her in the eyes. "It just…it just hurts so much…" She grabbed at her chest, feeling the rhythmic pumping of her heart, her other hand instinctively going down to touch her growing belly.

"But locking yourself away from everyone won't do you any good! I'm sure there are plenty of people that would—"

"'enjoy my company'? Yeah, sure, that's what they all say. I didn't have any friends as close as Chouji or Sakura or any of the other Konoha 11. And…_he_ was my best friend. I could _always_ count on him." The tears started again. "No. I can't do this anymore!" Ino tried to rise up and run away, but Tsunade held her fast, embracing her again. Ino's eyes flooded over as she struggled.

"No, Ino, shhh, just let it out!" Tsunade murmured.

Ino's ragged breaths slowly calmed down, and as she fell silent in her arms, Tsunade let Ino go. Ino pulled herself out of the grip of the older woman, sitting in front of her now and pulling her knees up to her chest as best she could.

"Okay, I'll try."

"I'm listening."

"It just seems so unfair! I know I had known him my whole life, but only a fraction of it was spent together as a true couple. I try so hard to think only of the good times, but the fact is, we did have our fair share of bad times. For most of the time we knew each other, we argued. It wasn't the perfect, best friend image everybody got of us. Yeah, we were close, but because of us hiding our feelings so long it made us…irritable…towards each other."

Ino sucked in a large breath. She was having a heart-felt monologue with the 5th Hokage. The image made her laugh internally.

"As Chouji used to put it, our 'sexual frustration' left our friendship strained for years. But once we got over ourselves and admitted to our feelings we were closer than ever. Besides some little looks and touches we still looked like the old…us."

Tsunade thought back to the time she'd noticed something abnormal about they're behavior with one another. It had only taken her a moment more for her to realize they had a different relationship now.

"Of course it was deceiving. Only those that knew us well could tell we were together. And they smiled and commented on how cute we were together and it 'was about time.'"

Ino smiled, closing her eyes and loosing herself to some random memory. Eyes still closed, she continued with her story.

"I still remember our wedding day. The ceremony was just as we both wanted, and aside from my bridezilla-ness the weeks prior, I couldn't have been more pleased by it. I think it was worth all the stress, sweat, and tears. The ceremony is hazy, all I remember is seeing him standing there with a small smile on his face, him putting the ring on my finger and me putting one on his, and then our kiss."

Ino sighed, happy tears sliding out the corners of her eyes. They were short-lived, for she opened her eyes again with a wistful smirk on her face.

"The reception's a blur, though I think I remember Naruto and Kiba getting drunk and slurring something about a song for Hinata. The wedding night and honeymoon is what I remember best. God, it all would be a year in 2 months!"

Tsunade's eyebrows rose. "The wedding night and honeymoon, eh?" Her tone was quite devious. "I wonder why _those_ moments stick out to you more…"

Ino's whole face turned red, realizing the implications she had brought upon herself. "Well…there was more to it than, erm, the _bedroom_…"

Tsunade gave her a look.

"Okay, okay! That's the main reason I remember those days the most! It was just…_wonderful_. The only thing in the world was him and me." Ino's blush intensified for a moment, remembering some of the _finer_ points of the wedding night/honeymoon that she dare not speak.

Tsunade was pleased with herself. Ino seemed to be getting back to her old self. Damn, how moody! But no one could really blame the poor girl. Tsunade patiently waited for Ino to stop reminiscing. Ino's original reason for being here was for something completely different.

"Well, Ino, I think we both know he was a wonderful man. But he wouldn't want you to spend your life like this!"

Ino's eyes snapped open, her whole face hardening at the implications as well as how well Tsunade had made her spill her guts and break down her defenses.

"He would have wanted me to be happy! And this," Ino pulled her sleeve up, showing off her red, puffy scars. "is the only thing that makes me happy now!"

Tsunade could only think of how completely and utterly _crazy_ this girl was. Moody was a perfect description of Ino.

"Cutting yourself does not do anything but spill blood!"

"Well I happen to like "bleeding out" my problems! Not all of us can get over things with normal means!"

**I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away **

I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away

I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away

Just to throw it away  
Just to throw it away

I bleed it out

I've opened up these scars  
I'll make you face this

I've pulled myself so far  
I'll make you, face, this, now!!!!  


"But you _can_, Ino! You're _talented_, you know the human mind, and hell, even the animal mind, better than anyone of your clan and probably in the history of the world! It's rather ironic, the only thing that can bring down yourself is your own mind. I knew sending you inside the minds of crazed killers would leave you messed up."

Ino wrenched herself out of her position, standing up and glaring down at Tsunade. Ino's whole body turned cold.

"I'm done with this. If you want me to live my life with no joy, if you want to take away my only happiness, then fine! I'll quit cutting! I'll give birth to the Uchiha baby and take it to its father! He can deal with what he did to me!"

Tsunade stood up and looked straight into the eyes of Ino.

"No. That'd be too cruel to the baby. It's still a part of me, and I'll love it even if it is an Uchiha. Funny to think I actually wanted this years ago. Oh my naïveté…"

Tsunade turned away. She had nothing. There was no way to change this girl. She'd almost had her, but then she'd changed the topic too soon. _Maybe if I give her more time…_She thought. Tsunade paced over to the teacher's desk and sat down on the chair behind it, resting her elbows on the edge of the desk and interlacing her fingers beneath her chin to prop up her head.

"You're dismissed."

Ino said nothing, trekking her way out of the Academy, past Anbu, and out into the empty streets of Konoha without giving anything a second glance. It was now past sunset, and most families would be eating dinner together now, laughing, and enjoying one another's company. She'd been so close to having that herself.

A winter wind picked up, blowing Ino's hair in her face. Konoha was in the Fire Country, so it never did get too terribly cold, but there were certain days where there would be a chill in the air.

"Damn wind." Ino muttered to herself, stopping for a moment and brushing the hair out of her eyes. She then picked up her pace again, hoping to arrive at her apartment before the winds picked up even more. There was a storm brewing.

Ino shivered as rainy gradually began falling. Her thin frame offered little warmth, and the wet hoodie was not helping at all. "Damn rain." She muttered again. Ino looked ahead, spotting her apartment. She forced herself into a light jog until she reached the entrance gates of the complex.

Ino's gaze traveled to a dark figure leaning casually against the side of her apartment complex, arms crossed over his chest, dark hair veiling his face as the rain pelted down on him. She stopped dead in her tracks. Ino shook her head, closing her eyes and ridding herself of the vision. As she blinked them open, the figure had disappeared. She breathed a sigh of relief, recalling for a moment the delusion she'd had. Those hadn't been visiting her for a while. She took a step towards the door of the apartment, but halted, her heart-beat speeding up incredibly. She turned around slowly, looking into dark eyes she only knew too well.

"Shika…" She said breathlessly, analyzing his dark and handsome features for far too long.

Said person's face lit up in a smirk that just wasn't suitable for his face. Too cruel. It was then that Ino's eyes narrowed. Her fists clenched, and she brought her right arm up and punched her "companion" in the nose. Blood spurted and a cloud of smoke appeared as the once dark features changed to an even darker shade, if possible. Ino's unrelenting gaze held the transformed other's.

"Uchiha." She spat out. Her arm instinctively covered her stomach as if protecting the baby from the truth, sinking into her soaked sweatshirt in search of some comfort.

Sasuke wiped the blood from his face and coolly looked at the "emo Ino" as everyone had come to dub her now. "Ino. I see you're starting to show." The cruel smirk returned.

"That was a nasty trick you played on me, Uchiha. So what's it like to be a free man around Konoha these days? Rape any more women and kill their husbands?"

Ino's retort was cast aside by Sasuke. He was used to those types of things.

"What is it, Uchiha? Too afraid to let me know in case I go crying to Tsunade like I used to cry to Daddy? Well, I've changed. And so have you since the Academy."

"…"

Sasuke's indifference and smirk were pissing Ino off. A vein throbbed in her forehead.

"What the fuck is your problem! If you're just going to stand there, then why the hell did you come out here?! Are you trying to make me kick your ass?!"

"…Like you could." Sasuke calmly stated.

"Ugh. I'm sick of this. Move aside, Uchiha. I've got business to attend to."

"Oh, I see cutting yourself is priority over kicking my ass. Yay for me." He said sarcastically. Sasuke was being strangely talkative.

"No, I mean making myself and your bastard child some food so we both don't die!"

"…"

Sasuke remained silent again. Ino always thought that his choice in silent moments were to piss her off.

"No comment? The move! Your blocking my way!" Ino shoved past him, taking a few more steps to the door.

"It's not mine."

Ino froze, her heart beating madly again.

"W-what?" She stated just above the whisper of the dying rain and wind.

Sasuke walked forward, slowly coming to a stop directly behind Ino. His hand rested on her tense shoulder, and she flinched automatically.

"I said, it's not mine. Your child. You were pregnant before I raped you."

He said it with such a nonchalance, but Ino couldn't get angry at him. She was so shocked! She had come to accept that this child was Sasuke's, but now knowing instead that it was…Wait. He could just be lying about this to play with her emotions again.

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie to you about this? Like I would want _you_ to have my child. Plus, you can read my mind and tell if I was."

"The timing isn't right. It's nearly impossible." She was desperate. She didn't know what she would do if it wasn't Sasuke's child and it was his.

"Once is enough."

Ino stood rigid, letting the information soak in. She quickly scanned his mind. It was true. It wasn't Sasuke's. It wasn't Sasuke's!

The tears started to come, and not wanting to let Sasuke see them, Ino ran into the apartment building, sprinting up the steps at a speed amazing for a pregnant woman.

Sasuke watched her go, smirking to himself. One less problem he had to deal with.

"Too bad she didn't stick around for the better news." He muttered to himself, turning away from the complex and heading out into the lonely streets of Konoha to trek his way to the even lonelier Uchiha home.

**I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away **

I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away

I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away

Just to throw it away  
Just to throw it away 

Ino skidded to a halt in front of her apartment door. Number 10. How cliché. She dug into the pouch wrapped around her thigh, finding a ring of keys. She flipped through them expertly, finding the correct ones and unlocking the top lock, then the bottom. The door creaked open. She hastily shut it behind her, leaning against the closed door for support as she broke down in tears of joy. She was going to be the mother of a child. Not an aftereffect from rape, but a baby made of the love of two people. Her and her late husband.

Ino stood up straight, composing herself a little better after a few moments, walking through the entry hall and past the living room, not giving the bare apartment a spare glance. That is, until she spotted the rose lying in front of her bedroom door. Ino froze again. Her heart couldn't take much more of this. Ino closed her eyes, breathed deeply, then opened them again and picked up the rose. There was no message.

Ino opened the door to her room slowly, afraid to find another imposter of her husband inside the room. There was a form laying on the bed, curled up in dirty clothes and sleeping peacefully. She knew that look. No one on this earth could produce a jutsu to imitate that look. The peace and innocence of his features, skin smoothed across his forehead and not frowning, and dark locks tangled around his face. Ino dropped the rose. It was his signature gift to her.

Ino walked over to the side of the bed and dropped to her knees. Yep. That was him. This was no ninjutsu or genjutsu, this was just…him. Her hand rose shakingly, still afraid that if she touched him, he would disappear. He didn't. Her hand just met soft skin. She stroked his cheek lovingly, greedily drinking in his features. Her hand traveled over the line of his jaw, feeling it move slightly as he breathed through his mouth. It traveled over his forehead, lightly traced his eyes, and tweaked his nose slightly, just like she had done on numerous occasions. He stirred for a moment, and her breathing hitched and she watched his forehead wrinkle in a frown before smoothing out once more. She dared to move her hands over him again, tracing his ears and touching his cheeks before moving them to his lips. They twitched for a moment before his eyes slowly opened, coming in to focus on Ino.

"Shikamaru…" She trailed off, and he sat up groggily before recognizing everything that had happened. He lifted Ino up and pulled her into his lap, embracing her tightly. Ino didn't cry. She'd cried too much.

"Mmm, Ino." He whispered into her hair, inhaling the sweet scent. He'd missed this so much.

"Shika…how?" Was all she could ask, pulling one of his hands away from her back and down to her stomach.

He felt the bulge and his eyes widened. Shikamaru smiled, pulling the still-wet sweatshirt (which was once his) off Ino to gaze at her stomach. It had to be true. And without even asking, he knew it was his.

"It's all thanks to that bastard Uchiha. I know what he did to you, but none of it was true. It was all the Sharingan. The only real wounds he gave you are the ones on your abdomen. He knocked me out and hid me away while he tortured you to make it seem like he was still on the opposing side. After you were incapacitated and stuck in the sharingan's genjutsu, he sent you back to your team and "gave up," leaving me stuck in that prison. It wasn't until the Suna nin came and took me back there that I woke up. And then after recovering from the damage I'd received, I came back here."

Ino's eyes had widened throughout the story, specifically at the part where she hadn't been raped. She'd never been violated. So that's why…Ino hated to say it, but she owed Sasuke an apology. But why hadn't Sasuke told anyone that it was a ploy? Maybe _that_ was why Tsunade only placed him on probation.

Her curiosity ended when she felt Shikamaru's burning gze till on her. Her thoughts came to rest on a _very _different aspect of the recent weeks. The guilt came in, and Ino then tried to hide her arms.

Shikamaru noticed Ino become tense and looked down to her movement. It was them he noticed her arms. He knew Sasuke hadn't made those, and in no mission could she get those. He'd heard stories about scars like those. It was only one thing. He was shocked to say the least, but controlled his voice. He loved this woman, and obviously she loved him so much as to go to that extreme for relief of his "death."

"Ino, don't hide them. Let me see."

Ino regretfully moved her arms back out toward him, where he traced each scar lovingly. The way they usually ached was no longer existent. He just had that calming effect on her. He brushed his lips against each of her wrists, which were obviously where the brunt of her attacks had been centered. Her breath hitched, her heart speeding up for numerous reasons.

"Oh Shika…I'm so sorry!" She buried her head into the crook of his neck. "I just couldn't stop! I needed to feel something, and pain was the only thing I would turn to!" She breathed in his scent, oh how she'd missed it.

"Ino," He lightly grasped her chin and turned her face to look up to his. His face was not at all angry. "Thinking I lost you, I would have been irrational as well. I'll help you, I can get you help."

Ino smiled, and leaned in to lightly brush her lips against his. She pulled back, her eyes shining with true happiness.

"I don't feel the need to cut myself anymore. My drive for doing it is gone with you here."

Shikamaru smirked his characteristic lazy smirk and leaned in to capture her lips in a lingering kiss that left them tingling.

"It's good to hear."

Ino yawned, obviously tired from her lack of sleep as well as the shocking events of today. Shikamaru lifed her up enough to pull the covers of their bed down and pulled her under them, him following. Ino snuggled into the blankets and Shikamaru, a smile on her features. He held her closer, but then his mind was struck with a thought. It made his smile wider.

"So," Shikamaru started. "What about this baby…"

And they laughed as Ino's bloody kunai on the dresser table glinted in the last rays of sunlight before the room was covered in shadows that danced.

**I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away **

I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away

I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away

Just to throw it away  
Just to throw it away

I bleed it out  
I bleed it out  
I bleed it out **

* * *

AN: Wow, this was intended to be so much more tragic and angstier, but I just wrote and it turned out a bit…happier. Oh well. I love the way it turned out. The shadow part is my favorite, you know, refernce to Shika's jutsu. lol So, I hope you all like it! I didn't make Sasuke that bad after all. Thanks so much for reading, and I look forward to hearing any comments you have on this story! I worked really hard on it!**


End file.
